Exports were valued at nearly US$96.26 billion this year, a year-on-year increase of 33.3% - the highest level since 1995 and tripling the National Assembly's target of 10%.
Total import value also increased 24.7% to more than US$105.77 billion.
The export value of the FDI (foreign direct investment) sector recorded the highest increase of 39.3% over last year, fetching US$54.46 billion, while exports by the domestic sector rose more than 26% to nearly US$41.8 billion.
Of the total 27 export commodities, textiles and garments recorded the highest value, US$14.28 billion, up 25.1% year-on-year and even surpassing the export value of crude oil which earned the nation nearly US$7.24 billion this year.
As many as 19 commodities had export turnovers of more than US$1 billion, including seafood products (US$6.1 billion), footwear (US$6.5 billion), electronics-computers-spare parts and machinery-equipment-devices (US$4.1 billion), rice (US$3.6 billion), coffee (US$2.7 billion), and cassava products (US$2.6 billion).
Head of the GSO's Trade Department Le Minh Thuy attributed the high export value this year to business expansion by some FDI enterprises.
'This year, the proportion of industrial and mineral products exported rose 4% year-on-year and accounted for 35.2% of total export value,' Thuy said.
Regarding imports, Thuy said the value of materials for production this year was 90.6% of total imports, while consumer products were just 7.6%.
Twenty two out of 30 imported merchandise goods were valued at more than US$1 billion, of which machinery, equipment and devices led with US$15.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 12%.
Fuel followed with a total import value of US$9.9 billion; electronics-computers-spare parts, US$7.2 billion; fabric, US$6.7 billion; steel, US$6.3 billion; plastic, US$4.7 billion; and automobile, US$3.1 billion.
